I trudged slowly from my house to the bus stop. It was still snowing and the roads were covered with ice. I wondered sleepily why on Earth we were allowed to attend school today.

As I shivered in silence, waiting for the bus to arrive, I heard a peculiar noise.

It sounded like the wind but…different somehow. I ignored it. I was still half asleep. It must have been nothing other than the few dumb geese that refused to fly south like normal birds do.

I studied my feet, wondering again why I was waiting out here, freezing to death.

I looked up and gasped.

In front of me-where there was nothing before-stood a blue box.

It was a police box, like the ones they have in Britain.

Something in my mind clicked.

Could it be…?

I drilled my stare into the box, hoping it wasn’t a hallucination. I couldn’t have fallen asleep, could I? As drowsy as I was, I was pretty awake.

The door of the blue box…the TARDIS…opened and out stepped a man with a bowtie and a frown on his face.

“It’s freezing!” He said, hugging himself. He noticed me staring at him, mouth agape. He smiled.

“Hello!” he said, waving.

I shut my mouth and shakily waved back. By this time, I had gone completely numb. Whether it was from the cold or the shock of seeing…him…I didn’t know.

“A bit chilly, isn’t it?” he asked, strolling over to me.

I nodded, pretending to search for the bus. I avoided his gaze. “Yes,” I smiled politely. “It’s pretty cold.”

He frowned again. “What are you doing out here all alone?”

I cleared my throat awkwardly. “I’m waiting for the bus.”

“Bus? A bus for what?”

“Erm…for school.”

The Doctor clapped his hands together, the sound echoing. “Ah, of course! You have to attend school! I nearly forgot. My companions never talked about school. Must have slipped my mind.” He leaned in close and whispered. “I’m a lot older than I look.”

I nodded again. He reached into his coat and pulled out…his sonic screwdriver! He buzzed it in my direction and smiled.

“Do you have a phone on you by any chance?” he asked, putting the device away.

“Yeah,”

“May I borrow it for a moment? I just need to make a quick call. Won’t take a second.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. I may have known him but I was cautious about giving my phone to strangers. I sighed. I reached into my pocket and handed him my new phone.

“Ah!” he said, throwing the phone up and catching it, much to my annoyance. “Very nice phone! Is it new?”

“Yes.”

Without hesitation, he dialed in a number and held it to his ear. He moved away from me and mumbled into the phone. I couldn’t make out what he said but it was obvious that he didn’t want me to hear it.

I bit my lip. What if the bus arrived and saw the phone box? For some reason, I was anxious not to let anyone else see it.

I looked down the road, standing on my toes to see past the trees. No sign of the bus. Good.

The man handed me my phone, thanking me, and trotted off to his box. He vanished inside and I was left out in the cold, my backpack hanging sadly from my shoulders.

I looked at the call history on my phone, hoping to see the number he had dialed. But there was no trace of it.

The man poked his head out and looked at me.

“You’re still here?” he asked quizzically.

“Yeah. My bus hasn’t come yet.” I said.

The man grinned. He walked up to me and whispered. “How would you like to come with me?”

The blood drained from my face. My mother had warned me not to get into cars with strange people no matter what they said…but I knew this man, if not personally and…it wasn’t exactly a car.

“Where?” I asked, trying not to disguise my suspicion.

The man held his arms out. “Anywhere! Anywhere, anytime!”

I shook my head. “I have to go to school. I’m sorry.”

“School? Oh, nonsense! You’ll be back here in this exact spot at this exact time. I promise!”

I hesitated. The man pulled out his sonic screwdriver again and held it in front of me.


“Don’t you want to know what this is?” he gestured to the TARDIS. “Don’t you want to know how I appeared in that thing out of thing air?”

I swallowed hard. “I…I already know.” I said.

The Doctor put his screwdriver away from folded his arms. “What do you mean you ‘already know’?”

I bit my tongue, realizing my mistake. But what else was I supposed to say? I grinned.

“I already know.” I repeated.

“Alright, then,” he said, his smile gone. “That device I just put away. What is it?”

“A sonic screwdriver.”

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. “Correct. What is this blue box here?”

“The TARDIS.”

“What does it stand for?”

“Time and relative dimension in space.”

The Doctor studied me for several minutes. “Hmm…very clever,” he leaned closer. “But are you as clever as me?”

I tore my gaze from him and look at the road. Still empty.

“Right, you’re coming with me.” He said. “I want to know how you know about me.”

What would my mother say if I vanished?

I smiled. He grinned and opened the door of the TARDIS and ducked inside. I followed, eager to leave Earth behind.